Classic books for English learners
Twelve public-domain classics, sorted by CEFR reading level so you always know what to read next. Every book is free to read online with a reading tracker, a short quiz, and tap-to-translate vocabulary. No sign-up.
Still below B1? Begin with short A1 stories and work up to these novels.
B1–B2 · Start here
The most accessible classic on the shelf. Short and plainly written.
B2 · Confident intermediate
Clear enough to read for pleasure once you are comfortable at B2.
- The Yellow Wallpaper · Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1892)A short, gripping story of a woman confined for her own good. One of the most studied short stories in English literature.B2 · 40p · ~1h
- The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde · Robert Louis Stevenson (1886)A gothic novella that gave the language a metaphor for the divided self. Tightly plotted and short.B2 · 90p · ~2h
- A Christmas Carol · Charles Dickens (1843)Dickens's famous tale of Scrooge, ghosts, and second chances. Warm, accessible, and short enough to read in a week.B2 · 110p · ~2h
- The Awakening · Kate Chopin (1899)Chopin's novel about a woman waking up to her own life in 1890s Louisiana. Scandalous at the time, essential now. Short chapters make it fast.B2 · 200p · ~4h
- Frankenstein · Mary Shelley (1818)The original modern horror novel. Mary Shelley wrote it at nineteen. A story about creation, responsibility, and what we make.B2 · 280p · ~6h
- Pride and Prejudice · Jane Austen (1813)Austen's most loved novel. Sharp, funny, and surprisingly modern. The longest of the easier books in the plan.B2 · 430p · ~10h
B2–C1 · Stretch a little
Richer sentences and vocabulary — a good push upward.
- The Great Gatsby · F. Scott Fitzgerald (1925)A short, lyrical novel about wealth, longing, and the impossibility of repeating the past. Set on Long Island in the summer of 1922.B2-C1 · 180p · ~4h
- The Picture of Dorian Gray · Oscar Wilde (1890)Wilde's only novel. Beautiful sentences, beautiful corruption. A book about what beauty costs.B2-C1 · 250p · ~6h
- Madame Bovary · Gustave Flaubert (1856)Flaubert's masterpiece of provincial unhappiness. Translated by Eleanor Marx (Karl Marx's daughter). The first great novel of disillusionment.B2-C1 · 350p · ~8h
C1 · Advanced, when you are ready
Dense and demanding. Save these for last.
- Heart of Darkness · Joseph Conrad (1899)Conrad's dense, troubling novella about a journey up the Congo. Short in pages, demanding in prose. The hardest stylistically in the plan.C1 · 100p · ~2h
- Crime and Punishment · Fyodor Dostoevsky (1866)Dostoevsky's great novel of a murder and what follows it. The longest book in the plan, saved for last because by then you will have the habit. Constance Garnett's classic translation.C1 · 550p · ~12h
Why classics are great English practice
You absorb the vocabulary and rhythm of educated English from writers who shaped the language.
Each book carries a CEFR rating so you climb at your own pace instead of drowning in a hard one.
Tap any word for its meaning and add it to a personal list you can review later.
Twelve classics in twelve months
Follow the free guided plan — one book at a time, a calm daily page goal, a tracker, and a quiz at the end of each. It saves your progress and vocabulary across devices.